How can Philippine call centers boost productivity this holiday season?

Friday, December 2, 2016

While everybody else is busy preparing for the upcoming holidays, Filipino BPO workers are facing a different kind of dilemma. For Philippine call centers, this season means extremely tight schedules, surging amounts of phone calls, and constantly being in the office. As most outsourcing companies in the Philippines cater to customers who follow different time zones, support reps may not be able to take a day or two away from their desks.

This also means that plenty of things may prevent customer service agents from performing well during this period. For instance, some of them may find it difficult to commute to and from work alongside throngs of passengers. Traffic is also bound to get even worse, which might make it impossible for them to arrive for work on time.

To prevent these from happening, here are three solutions you might want to consider:

•   If possible, reorganize agents' schedules.
Plenty of Philippine call centers implement rigid schedules to ensure that there are agents manning all of their communication channels on a 24/7 basis. However, do consider that it can be hard for employees to stick to their schedules during the holidays due to traffic and commuting problems.
Providing your agents a little flexibility during this season can help them manage their time better. You may also rearrange your shifting schedules in a way that allows your employees to avoid the rush hour.

•   Encourage agents to use navigation apps.
Navigation tools such as Waze and Google Maps can help you and your employees avoid bottlenecks along the road. These mobile apps provide turn-by-turn directions, alternative routes, and traffic reports. Their maps may even be used offline, which makes them convenient for those with limited Internet connectivity. You may encourage your agents to utilize these tools to make their travels relatively more bearable.

•   Provide a free transportation mode for employees.
In addition to heavy traffic, the massive volume of passengers during the holidays can also make it hard for your agents to ride public utility vehicles. Providing free transportation modes, such as buses, shuttles, or jeepneys, will surely make it easier for them to travel between their homes and the workplace. By ensuring that your customer support reps have access to company-provided vehicles, you can reduce absenteeism in the contact center.

 

In addition, it's quite normal for employees to feel a little sluggish during this season. Thus, managers should watch out for plummeting engagement and poor performance. To boost your contact center's productivity during this time of the year, here are tips you must take note of.

•   Celebrate the holidays with your team.

The holiday season is a sacred time for most Filipinos, and they make it a point to celebrate this time of the year with their family and friends. Needless to say, your customer support agents would be missing out on plenty of social events during this period because they'd need to show up for work instead. This can dampen employee engagement and lower people's morale.

Thus, make sure to celebrate the holidays with your team. Typically, Philippine call centers hold company parties toward the year end, but you may also organize a smaller get-together with your team.

•   Reward your employees.

For customer support reps, working during the holiday season can be extremely stressful because of the ever-increasing number of calls from shoppers. Thus, don't forget to reward your agents for a job well done. Doing so will motivate them to keep performing well.